Sole flexing machine



Mardi 17, 1942. ,N. A. M ONFILS 6.3

SOLE FIxmG MACHINE. l A

Filed March 3, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 /VVEN March 17, 1942. N. A. MONFILS SOLE FLEXING MACHINE =Filed March 3, 1941 3 SheetsSheet 2 Marc 17, 1942;

N. A. MONFILS SOLE FLEXING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 3, 1941 Patented Mar. 17, 1942 UNIT 'STATES OFFICE SOLE FLEXING MACHINE Application March 3, 1941, Serial No. 381,435

13 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for n1echanicaily reducing the stifiness of unattached lather soles. The invention is embodied in an improved orgamzation that works the 1eather to loosen itsfibrous texture Without cutting Or ruptui ing its fibers.

One novel feature of the invention consists in an improved arrangement of a series'of three cooperative rolls two of which are arranged to wrap a portion of a sole repeatedly around a segment of an intermediate anvil-roll but to yield, if necessary, instead of c0mpeiling the sole to submit to the maximum bending before it is sufficiently pliable to do so without being ruptured.

Another novel feature cOnsists in an orgamzation in which depression of a treadle will bring the anvil-roll and the wrapping rolls into a 00- operative relation after a sole has been interposed' between them, and in Which an operating mechanism wili thereaftr produce relative reciprocation of the anvil-roll and the wrapping rolls to eiect successive wrapping operations. This feature provides for fiexing a sole between its ends Without fiexing' either of its ends and without stubbing the'sole against any roll While inserting itbetween the" rolls.

Still another novel feature consists in prdviding a power-cperated wrapping or flexingmciianism with a starting and stopping meanS under control of the aforesaid treadle, to the end that the wrapping mechamsm will be bro1ight int operation only when, and in Consequence of, bringing the anvil-roll and the wrapping rolls into their cooperative relation. Ihisieatre not only avcids wasting power when the rollsare separated, but it also facilitates insertion of the soles because all the rolls remain stationary when they are separated;

The invention also provides power-driven means for rotating one of the rolls (the anViithe operators resistance to bring' an unfieXed area into the field of operation. This fature Of the invention supplements the yieldihg of the wrapping rolls to provide for breaking down the 1 initial stifness in easy stages and to reg1ilat the sole in the relation shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation; partly in section, of the clutch and an arm for controlling it;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the parts included in Fig". 2;

' Fig. 6 is a right side elevatioh of the lower portion of the machine frafi1e and a bandbrake;

Fig. '7 is a top plan view, partly in section, of the starting and stoDpingmechanism; and A Fig. 8 is a top plan view, partly insection, of a portion of the clutch.

To present a sole in to the flexing'meohahiem the operator wili hold it grain side up, grasp it by its heel end and place its toe end against an abutment H as shown in Fig. 1. The middie portion of the sole will th-er1 lie on an anvil-roll [2 and extend under a pair of parallel and freely r'otatable fiexing rolls 13. An arm formed on the abutme'nt H is afiixed to the irame M by tWo clampihg screws 15 and is' provided With 'slots l5 throughWhich'thesescrews extend. The

roll) to feed out a sole in process-of being worked.

The rolls produce a novel eeding ei1ect the force of which is not fully developed until a sole is so closely wrapped around the poWer-driven roll as to have its maximum area of contact'therewith.

Consequently, if a sole is initially too stii to be* sowrapped, the operatormay, by resisting the underdevelcped feeding force; prevent the sole from advancing until two or more fiexures 1ocalized in one' area of the sole have broken down the stifiness in that area to a degree that enables the fiexed area to be closely w'rapped. Then, since the coefficient of friction between the driven roll and the fiexed araa will have been fuliy developed, the Sole willbeadvancedagaihst slots permit adjusting the abutment toward and from the rolls according to the length of the soies. In practice, the abutment wili be set to locatethe hall-fine of a sole a little off the anvilroll l2 and at the abutment side thereof.

Having placed a sole as shown in Fig. 1, the

operator starts the operation of the machine by depressing a treadle Il. This raises the anviiroll l2 into cooperative'relatioh With the fiexing rolls l3 and trips a clutch by Which the latter are set in operation to wrap* the solerepeatedly around a segment of the anvil-roll.

The anvil-roll is afiixed to a sha.ft [8 and the latter is journaled in a yoke that forms a part of a vertically movable jack or Carrier 20. This carrier is arranged to slide in a guiding bracket l9 afiixed to the column 2l of the frame. The'carrier*2l and a toggle member 22 'are-connected by a pivot-pin 23. Another toggle member 24 is mounted on a fulcrum-pin in the base of the column. The toggle members are connected by a knee-pivot 26. The treadle l1 is a part of the toggle member 24. These parts are initially' held in the positions represented in Fig. 1 by a pair of tension springs 21, but when the treadle is depressed the toggle members take the positions represented in Fig. 2 and remain there until the operator releases the treadle.

The fiexing rolls l3 are mounted on a vertically movable carrier that remains stationary at the upper limit of its range of travel except when the treadle H is depressed. This carrier comprises a slide and two pairs of levers all connected by a common fulcrum-pin 3|. One of the flexing rolls l3 is carried by a pair of levers 32, and the other is carried by a pair of levers 33. The purpose of the levers is to provide for movement of the fiexing rolls tovvard and from each other.

The levers of one pair lie across those of the other pair, and their upper ends are connected by tension springs' 34 the eiect of which is to move the flexing rolls toward each other. The upper arms of the levers are held initially against stops 35 by which the flexing rolls are maintained in positions to 'straddle the anvil-roll.

The slide 39 is arranged in guideways 36 on the frame I4 and derives its operating motion from a mechanism comprising a link 31, a. lever 38, an eccentric-rod 39 and an eccentric 49. The lever and the frame l4 are connected by a fulcrum-pin 4l. The eccentric 40 is carried by a shait 42 to which any desired number of revolutions may be imparted in each run of the machine, according to the length of time during which the treadle remains depressed. When the flexing rolls [3 are carried down they straddle the anvil-roll, as shown in Fig. 2 and if a sole is placed on the anvil-roll before the treadle is depressed it will be wrapped around the anvil-roll by the fiexing rolls.

The applied force of the springs 34 may be regiflated by turning nuts 43 in which screw-eyes 44 are threaded. In practice, these devices will be the operation of the flexing rolls when the anvilroll is shifted to its operative position and to terminate such operation when the anvil-roll is displaced from its operative position. To this end the shaft 42 is provided with a clutch the operation of which is controlled by the treadle l1. Referring to Fig. 7, the driving member of the clutch is loosely mounted on the shaft and the driven member 5l is afiixed to the shaft. A bolt 52 nested in a groove in the driven member is movable into and out of the path of a series of luge 53 of the driving member to give affect to the clutch. A compression spring 54 (Fig. 8) is adjusted to permit the flexing rolls [3 to yield in M some degree when their descent is resisted by a sole too stiff to be bent quite to the curvature of the anvil-roll l2. Moreover, each of the rolls l3 may yield irrespective of the other, and if they do not quite conform the sole to the curvature of the anvil-roll during one operating stroke of the slide 39 they will, at least, take some of the fight out ofthe sole and accomplish their full bending efiect in another operating stroke. Their fiexing effect will therefore be developed in successive stages instead of subjecting the sole to treatment so'severe as to break the fibres of the leather or crack the grain thereof.

When the knee-pivot 26 of the toggle is shiited to the position shown in Fig. 2 it is carried across and slightly beyond its dead-center position which coihcides with a line intersecting the pivot-pins 23 and 25. This movement of the toggle causes a pair of stop-shoulders on the member 22 to abut a pair of cheeks on the member 24. One of these shoulders is indicated at 28 in Fig. 1 and the corresponding check is indicated at 29. These shoulders, when seated on the cheeks, sustain the full force applied to the anvil-roll by the fiexing rolls, and to that extent relieve the operator fr0m much of the effort that would otherwise be required to support the anvil-roll in its operative position.

The machine is provided with starting and stopping mechanism so controlled as to initiate arranged to project the boit into the path of the lugs 53 whenever the bolt is tripped by an arm 55. This arm and an arm 56 are rigidly connected by a rock-shaft 51 that extends through a bearing 58. An extremity of the arm 56 is arranged to be depressed by the treadle H to lift the extremity of the arm out of a groove 59 in the member 5l and out of a notch in the bolt 52 (see Figs. 4 and 7). The boit is thus tripped to set the clutch in operation. When the operator ,releases the treadle a tension spring 60 (Fig. 1) draws the extremity of the arm 55 into the groove 59 in the driven member of the clutch and into the path of rotation et a beveled surface 6l of the bolt 52. When this surface strikes a beveled surface 62 of the arm 55 the bolt is retracted with a wedging action and the driven member of the clutch is thus released from the driving member. The wedging action of the members 52 and 55 also has a braking effect to arrest rotation et the shaft 42, but a supplemental braking eflect is provided by a drum 63, a friction band 64 and a tension spring 65 (see Fig. 6). One end of the band is anchorfld to the frame 2l. The starting and stopping elements are so organized that the tension of the band 84 may be regulated to stop the shaft 42 when the flexing rolls l3 are at the upper limit of their range of travel, as in Fig. 1. The clutch member 50 may receive rotation from a driving belt arranged to' run on its periphery, and its speed may be about 90 R. P. M.

The mechanisms hereinbefore described are sufiicient to :do all the flexing that a sole may require, provided the operator maintains a grasp of the heel end and draws the sole toward himself a little at a time between successive operative strokes of the fiexing rolls to distribute the fiexirxg effect through the forepart. Nevertheless, the invention includes an automatic feeding mechanism by which the sol will be slowly fed out while the machine is in operation. For this purpose the machine is provided with means for transmitting rotation from the shaft 42 to the anvil-roll 12 and for reducing the speed of rotation to shift the sole about inch for ea-ch operating stroke of the flexing rolls.

The transmission under consideration comprises a small driving sprocket 10 (Figs. 6 and '7) afiixed to the shaft 42, a large driven sprocket il, a transmission chain 12 arranged to run on them, a small driving sprocket 13, a large driven sprocket 14 (Figs. 1 and 2), and a transmission chain 15 arranged to run on the latter pair of sprockets. The sprocket 14 is afixed to the shaft l8 of the anvil-roll. The sprockets H and 13 are affixed to each other and both rotatable on a supporting stud 15 afiixed to the frame l4. An arrow adjacent to the anvilroll in Fig. 1 indicates the direction of rotation of that roll when the treadle is depressed.

The anvil-roll may be made of wood or metal and it has a smooth periphery to be engaged by the fiesh side of a sole. The two fiexing rolls may also be made of wood or metal and have smooth peripheries for engaging the grain side of a sole.

The toggle member 22 (Figs. 1 and 2) has an adjustable connection 1! by which its efiective length may be regulated to cause a sole to be gripped by the three rolls when the toggle is straightened and the flexing rolls are at their highest 1evel. A portion of the sole is thus deflected between the fiexing rolls by a segment of the anvil-roll. The tractive efiect of the anvilroll is comparatively little except When the sole is wrapped closely around it. Consequently, if the operator maintains a grasp on the heel end of the sole during the fiexing period, he may retard the feeding movement of the sole, particulafly a very stii one, until its stiffness has been reduced to a degree that W111 enable it to be Wrapped closely about the anvil-roll, but when this stage of fiexibility has been developed, the tractive efiect of the anvil-roll will be suflcient to overcome the retarding effort of the operator.

Having thus described my invention, what I daim as new and desire to secure Joy Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A sole-fiexing machine comprising an anviL roll, a pair of parallel flexing rolls arranged to cooperate therewith, said fiexing rolls being movable toward and from each other. spring-biased means by which said fieXing rolls are normally moved toward each other but enabled to be Wedged apart by said anvil-roll, and poweroperated means by which relative reciprocations of said anvilroll and said fiexing rolls are caused to wrap a portion of a sole repeatedly around a segment of said anvil-roil.

2. A sole-fiexing machine as specified in claim 1 comprising also manually operable means by which relative movements of approach and separation between said anvilroll and said fiexing rolls may be efiected to initiat and terminate their cooperative relation.

3. A sole-flexing machine as specified in claim 1 comprising also power-driven means by which said anvil-roll may be rotated to feed the sole in process of being fiexed.

4. A sole-fiexing machine as specified in claim 1 comprising also two carriers, manually operable means by which one of said carriers may be shifted toward and from the other, and poweroperated means by which the other said carrier may be reciprocated with movements toward and from the carrier first specified, said anvilroll being oarried by one of said carriers and said flexing rolls being carried by the other.

5. A sole-fiexing machine comprising an anvilroll, a support therefor, a pair of paralle] flexing rolls arranged to cooperate With said anvil-roll, a support for said flexing rolls, means arranged to cause said fiexing rolls to wrap a, portion of a sole around a segment of said anvil-roll by producing relative movement of approach and separation of said supports, said fiexing rolls being movable toward and from each other, and springbiased means by which said fiexing rolls are norma]ly moved toward each other but enabled to be wedged apart by said anvil-roll.

6. A soie-flexing machine comprising three cooperative rolls two of which are movable toward and from each other and the third of which is arranged to defiect an intermediate portion of a sole between said two, spring-biased means by which said two rolls are normally moved toward each other but enabled to be Wedged apart by said third roll, and power-operated means by which said three rolls are relatively reciprocated to shift their axes toward and from a common plane in a range that requires said two rolls t0 wrap a sole around a segment of said third roll.

7. A sole-flexing machine comprising a jack, an anviI-roll -carried thereby, a pair of parallel flexing rolls movable toward and from each other, spring-biased means Joy which said flexing rolls are normally moved toward each otherand initially maintained adjacent to each other, manually' operable means Joy which said jack may be operated to shift said anvil-roll to and from an operative position where it WH defiect a portion of a sole between said flexing rolls, power-operated means by which said flexing rolls may be reciprocated to wrap the sole repeatedly around a segment of said anvil-roll, and mechanism controlled by said manually operable means to start and stop said power-operated means,

8. A sole-fiexing machine as specified in cl-aim 7 comprising also .power-operated means controlled by said starting-and-stopping mechanism to rotate said anvil-roll and thereby feed the sole in process of being fiexed.

9. A sole-fiexing machine comprising a jack and a carrier movable toward and from each other, an anvil-roll carried by said jack, a pair of flexing rolls carried by said carrier and arranged to cooperate with said anvil-roll, manually operable means arranged to operate said jack and including a toggle arranged to be straightened to maintain said -anvil-roll in cooperative relation With said fiexing rolls, power-operated means by which said carrier may be reciprocated t0 cause said fiexing rolls to wrap a portion of a sole repeatedly around a segment of said anvilroll, and mechanism for starting and stopping said power-operated means, said starting-andstopping mechanism and said manually operable means being cooperatively related to cause operation of said fiexing rolls only When said toggle is straightened.

10. A sole-flexing machine comprising an anvi1- roll, a pair of fiexing rolls arranged t0 cooperate therewith, power-0pemted means by which said fiexing rolls may be reciprocated to wrap a sole repeatedly around a segment of said anvil-roll, and manually operahle means :by which said anvilroll may be shifted into and out of cooperative relation With said flexing rolls.

11. A sole-flexing machine comprising an anvilroll, a pair of flexing rolls arranged to :cooperate therewith, power-operated means :by which said anvil-roll and said flexing rolls may be relative1y reciprocated to wrap a sole repeatedly around a segment of said anvil-rol1, and manually operable means :by which said anvil-roll and said flexing rolls may Joe relatively shifted into and out of cooperative relation.

12. A sole-fiexing machine as specified in claim 11 comprising also spring-biased means by which said fiexing rolls are normally moved toward each other with provisions for yielding away from each other within their fields of operation.

13. A sole-flexing machine as specified in claim 11 comprising also an abutment against which one end of a sole may be placed to locate an intermediate portion of the sole in the operating field of said rolls.

NAPOLON A. MONFILS. 

